Monday, 1 October 2007

Raspberry and Almond Cake

There is something about raspberries and almonds together that just works. The tart juicy berries cut though the sweet nuttiness and both flavours benefit. Any cake where ground almonds replace some of the flour is delicious, moist and denser in texture and this one is no exception however, and this may sound contradictory, it manages to be light at the same time i.e. you don’t feel like you’ve eaten a house brick. I’m hoping that as it contains fruit and nuts it can be classified as a health food – perhaps even helping you meet your ‘five a day’ requirement…..ok, maybe not!

As you can see it’s quite an imposing, formal looking cake:

I love it when a cake has hidden treasure that cannot be seen from the outside; cooked raspberries turn a beautiful jewel-like colour:

So, that’s the fruit requirement covered, but it’s also important to get some dairy – good for the teeth and bones. This is how I like to keep osteoporosis at bay:

How to make:- preheat oven to 190°C/fan oven 170°C/375°F/ Gas mark 5 and grease a 20cm springform cake tin, lining the base with greaseproof paper.- Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale.- Beat in the eggs one at a time, the mixture might curdle towards the end but don’t worry about it.- Fold in the almonds, flour and raspberries. Try not to mush the raspberries up too much as it looks nicer. If the mix gets too thick add a dash of milk to loosen it. I didn’t have to in the example photographed above.- Spoon mix into the tin and smooth the top. Scatter the flaked almonds evenly over the top.- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. I found it took a bit longer than this but check on it after 40 minutes. Mine took 1 hour 5 minutes in total.- Leave to cool before removing from the tin. You can dust it with icing sugar before serving.- I served it with lightly whipped cream.- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.- Eat.

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The Caked Crusader and Boy Wonder

Cartoon by Cakeyboi

About Me

So, the answer to the question you’re all asking: who am I? Well, a superhero never reveals their identity. I think it’s stated somewhere in the contract when you sign up for superhero-dom. Let’s just call me THE CAKED CRUSADER. By day (and night if I’m being honest) a mild-mannered City professional, but at weekends I become THE CAKED CRUSADER. Tirelessly fighting anti-cake propaganda and cake-related injustices – for SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, ALWAYS NEEDS CAKE (we’ll just skip over the fact that it’s usually me).

Batman’s got the batmobile, batcave etc. Superman does just great what with being able to fly and being really strong. Spiderman’s got that web thing going on. But I have better than them. For I have a credit card and could get one of these:

The purpose of my blog is simple – to spread the word that CAKE IS GOOD.Yes, it is calorific; that is why it tastes so nice.Yes, too much of it is bad for you; that’s what ‘too much’ means.Yes, we’re all told to eat healthily and we know that we should. But ask yourself this – and look very deeply into your soul before answering – when has a cup of tea and a carrot ever cheered you up? However, put that carrot into a cake and happiness will ensue. Quod erat demonstrandum – CAKE IS GOOD.

This site will catalogue cakes I have unleashed unto the world and my thoughts thereon.

By the way, I will never recommend how many portions you should get out of a cake because we’re all different. Plus, it will be very embarrassing when I say it serves 4 and you get 20 portions out of it.

WARNING: Too much time spent on this blog may cause hunger.

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Cake Achievement in Film and Television Arts (CAFTA)

Have you seen a cake in a film or tv show that deserves recognition? Has a cupcake upstaged a beefcake?

If so, please let me know and that cake could win a coveted CAFTA award. Email me your suggestions, with a photo of the cake if possible.

About Me

I am a 40-something Chartered Accountant working in the square mile.
My main hobbies at the moment are baking, and setting the world record for the number of cake tins owned by one person.
I spend far too much time watching Spongebob Squarepants and would love to try a Krabby Patty...I know, I know - it's not real.